The Magic Wakes right now with Talia Zaryn

My Insecure Writer's Support Group post is below Charity's book tour stop.

Charity's publisher sure knows how to make a beautiful book. Even this tour thing is stunning.

Please welcome Charity Bradford, a new author whose voice is probably going to revolutionize the science-fiction field. Her talent and ability is humbling, and I absolutely love her debut novel, which you should go and buy RIGHT NOW. Anyway, Talia Zaryn, the star of The Magic Wakes has consented to stop by here and answer a few questions. Let's see what she has to say. But first, a little housekeeping.

I love the view of the city in this, but the font they
chose is another work of art. Lovely.

BOOK BLURB:
Talia has a secret, one that will save her world and yet rip it apart. Only she can decide if the price is worth it.

Scientist Talia Zaryn has always had visions of an alien invasion and of her own death. She’s kept it a secret, hoping they are nothing more than childish nightmares. But when her face in the mirror matches that of her dreams, she fears the dreams are prophetic. Talia must prove that life exists beyond their planet, Sendek; perhaps then people will prepare to fight.

Talia’s work at the Space Exploration Foundation leaves no time for personal relationships, but Major Landry Sutton isn’t looking for a friend. He’s looking for a traitor. His ability to sense emotions convinces him Talia is that traitor until a touch sizzles between them. In an instant their minds are connected and they can communicate telepathically. Just as the two begin to trust each other, the invading force arrives.

Talia and Landry must uncover the secrets of Sendek’s past if they hope to defeat these terrifying creatures. And Talia is the key—if only she can learn to trust the magic coursing through her veins.

CAMERA FADES IN.

FROM THE LEFT OF STAGE, ENTERS AN ASTONISHINGLY BEAUTIFUL WOMAN WITH VIOLET EYES. SHE WALKS OVER AND TAKES A SEAT AT THE DESK. THE STUDIO AUDIENCE QUIETS DOWN.

Welcome to the interview hour, where we dig into the minds of some of the newest characters in the world of books. Today our reluctant guest is a reclusive scientist from the Space Exploration Foundation (SEF), Talia Zaryn.

Miss Zaryn, let’s start off with something simple. What is it that you want out of life?

Talia: That’s your simple question?

Now, you promised to be honest with us today.

Talia: *sigh* I guess there are two things that I want more than anything. First to live through my nightmares when the time comes, and second…

Yes?

Talia: I’d like for people to accept me for who I am. I’d like to feel love like I did when my family was alive.

Speaking of love, what kind of person are you attracted to?

Talia: *chuckles* I’ve stopped looking for a relationship, but I can tell you what I notice first about people. Since everyone freaks out about my eyes, I’m drawn to theirs. Every set of eyes are different, the way the light plays with the flecks of color is fascinating to me.

Your eyes are definitely unique. I don’t think I’ve ever seen violet eyes before. Other than eyes, what do you look for in a man?

Talia: It doesn’t really matter because they avoid me, but strong personalities—alpha males, the ones who know what they want and don’t take no for an answer. I think deep down I hope they can save me.

Save you? You seem pretty independent and capable to me. Tell me what your good at.

Talia: Electronics. I can wire almost anything, it’s almost instinctual.

What are you bad at?

Talia: *laughs* can’t you tell? All things social terrify me. It’s hard for me to trust people and it just goes downhill from there. 

Surely you’ve had friends, crushes, things that make every life complete? Tell me about your first crush and those friends.

Talia: Hm, Ardro Gunik, tall, built, and popular from school. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out well. As for friends, there weren’t many. Just my family and some unconventional friends.

Oh? Such as?

Talia: You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. 

Give us a try.

Talia: The trees around my home and a small treeb I named Keeta.

*Laughing* You’re right, I don’t believe you. Trees can’t talk to you and treebs are endangered. Even if you were lucky enough to find one, you’d never be able to catch it. Maybe you’ll be able to make some friends now that you’ve come to Joharadin. Let’s move on. Tell us about your greatest regret.

Talia: I never told my family all of my secrets.

Good heavens! It’s not healthy to tell your family everything. There must be something better than that. Have you ever hurt anyone intentionally or not?

This is the trailer for The Magic Wakes. Watch it and love it.

Talia: I hope not! I abhor violence of any kind. 

Come now. Not even a catty fight with another woman over the attentions of a man?

Talia: Why bother when I know…

Know what?

Talia: Nothing.

Don’t clam up on us now! Here, we’ll change the subject. What are you the most afraid of?

Talia: That’s easy. The death from my dreams. Dying alone. I use to be afraid I’d have to watch my family die the same death I see in my nightmares. At least that’s no longer possible.

Okay! I’m feeling a bit down after all this talk of death and no lovers. Let’s end on a positive note. What do you find beautiful about life?

Talia: There is so much beauty in nature. The colors, textures, the sounds. For instance, have you ever just listened to the sigh of the wind through the leaves and the play of sunslight as it filters through the tree canopy? 

I can’t say that I have, but the next time I get out of the city I’ll give it a try. Talia, thank you for submitting yourself to our questions. I hope you enjoy our city, and that you find some of the happiness you obviously need in your life.

What actresses could play Talia in a film adaptation of Charity's Book? I'm glad

you asked that question, because here's a short list of women that could possibly

fill the role. Let's take a look shall we?

Amber Heard. A high school dropout born in 1986 who went to New York to work as a model. Big surprise eh? With a body like that you don't need school.

Alexandra Daddario is another young actress born in 1986. I know her from Percy Jackson and from this January's Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D.

"ZOMGAH IT'S LEATHERFACE AND I'M IN A TUBE TOP AND HIGH HEELS!" Runs from roaring chainsaw

Ashley Greene. She's Alice in Twilight!

There's a pic of her online where she's in nude body paint, but I thought I'd better not use that one.

And Alex, she's way hotter than Kate Beckinsale.

Jessica Lowndes. She's best known for her role as Adrianna Tate-Duncan in the CW's mega smash hit 90210, the reboot of the ultra successful Beverly Hills 90210 (all of the alumni are now Hollywood washouts and Aaron Spelling is dead).

Anyway, she's seen here with a designer purse by Coco Chanel on her arm.

Oh god...how do I know that?

She gets two snaps up in a circle.

Last but not least is Katharine McPhee. You saw her on American Idol.

And the movie she's most famous for is
SHARK NIGHT 3D!!!!

NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM

Charity Bradford

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Charity Bradford has been a voracious reader ever since her 5th grade teacher introduced her to the world of books with Where the Red Fern Grows and Summer of the Monkeys. She’s the mother of four kids that keep her on her toes, constantly reminding her that imagination still makes the world go round. She lives in Arkansas with her hubby and children, and firmly believes that a smile can solve most problems. The Magic Wakes is her first novel.

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***** 

The Insecure Writer's Support Group is a once a month blogfest managed by science-fiction author, Alex J. Cavanaugh.

My February insecurity has a lot to do with an almost obsessive compulsive need to get all the details exactly right in my stories. For example, Oculus takes place at Cornell University which as you may know, is an ivy-league school in Ithaca, New York. In order to get all the details right, I must have read fifty student blogs for months. I sat through hours of homemade YouTube videos of anyone that went to the school (because I didn't). I took virtual tours of the rink the Big Red played on, I read sports blogs to make sure I even knew what the bus looked like that the Men's Hockey team rode. I researched scholarships and discovered that the Ivy League doesn't give NCAA athletic scholarships. They only do "need-based." That's it, interesting eh?

I also wanted to make sure I understood exactly how a boy with hockey dreams (who doesn't live in Minnesota) gets to play in an NCAA division 1 school, and it isn't what most people think. They are rarely "plucked" from some high school dream team. If they want to make it there, they have to leave home and join a famous Junior League for the majority of their high school career (and stay with a host family) and get lucky enough to attend the NHL draft at 18. Yes, if you are picked by a team at the NHL entry draft you can still go to college. It just means that they've marked you like a dog, but as long as you stay in school, you are not obligated to join up with that professional team.

That's how you get noticed and make it to that level of play. It's quite a credit to have been chosen by, I dunno, the Chicago Blackhawks, and it's what NCAA Division 1 schools want on their starting lineup. Sound like an incredibly difficult path to follow? Well it should because IT IS.

I've read other books where authors wanted to have a player that made it to a college team, and they didn't do this (went the traditional route of being plucked from high school) and that just doesn't happen in men's hockey (and it made me not really like the book all that much because I thought the author was lazy and uninformed). That's why Jordan spent so much time away from his sister...he chose this life and had to live with a host family at the age of 15. Parents of serious hockey teens don't get to see their sons much, and I wanted to point that out because I don't think people know about this.

This is one of the best videos I encountered regarding Lynah Rink

for my book Oculus. College hockey is pretty awesome back east.

I know the campus of Cornell University so well from staring at maps, roads, building schematics, and google earth, that I literally can tell you where to find the Hot Truck (a famous mobile sandwich bus that students hit up late at night). I can tell you what the menu looks like at Collegetown Bagels. And I can tell you what the Men's locker room looks like in Lynah Rink without having been there (including the updated remodeling). I also became a huge fan of Ben Scrivens (who now plays for the Toronto Maple Leafs) and Colin Greening (who I kinda/sorta used as a template for Jordan). And my sports research somehow spilled over to football last year (which I'd pretty much ignored all my life). Two years later, I can quote statistics to you of players like Ray Rice or Andrew Luck, who's playing on what team in the NFL, and I correctly predicted the outcome of the Superbowl a week before the AFC/NFC championships down to Ray Lewis winning the coin toss by saying heads and then having the other team start with the football. My co-workers think I should do fantasy football (which I'm probably going to do) and start betting in Vegas. Now to be fair, I bet my boss that the superbowl would be played between San Francisco and Baltimore and that the game wouldn't even be close. I said Baltimore would smoke SF by at least 20 points because I was banking a lot on the emotions from Baltimore from what I saw last year when their kicker, Billy Cundiff, failed to make an easy field goal. I said, "there is no way those brothers will EVER let something like that slip from their fingers again. They will play their guts out and crush anyone in their way."

Now I maintain that if that freakish blackout had not occurred, that I would HAVE BEEN RIGHT. I think SF would have been crushed by more than 20 points. But you are free to argue with me of course since we shall never know. But I think the blackout made the game "close." Otherwise it would have been a blowout.

But with all this research, I'm insecure. It would really irritate me if someone said, "Hey this thing you described doesn't match up with the real thing, or you got this detail wrong." I'm kind of a perfectionist. I know that I would outwardly smile and say, "Oh well...it's fiction, ya know?" But inside, I'd be like "ARRRGGGHHH. I spent hours researching this crap!" And I'd find some excuse to drive an invisible dagger through their shoulderblades.

I'm beginning to think that this insecurity of mine isn't so much "an insecurity" as it may be a neurosis centered around obsessive compulsive attention to detail. However, I think the devil is often in the details and that in the end, Oculus is all the more stronger for it.